steering wheel wrap - peeling solution
 

thought others might be interested. not a difficult task. Happy to provide directions if anyone wants to do it.

Looks good!

Looks great. much better than staring at peeling flakes in traffic. How did you do it?

Away for a few days but will do a full write up soon

great. looking forward to it. thanks.

M steering wheel for sale from a 2011 BMW X5 50i with Msport package

BMW x5 x6 E70 E71 50i Msport Steering Wheel | eBay

Lol

I went ahead and got some 3M di-noc wrap and did the project myself. first time working with carbon fiber wrap. it was easier than i expected. watched several youtube videos to prepare myself. the controls look so much nicer without the peeling mess. Thanks for the idea.

that looks awesome. nice job. i was actually coming on to do the write up but you have already done the job

I'm getting the courage to do this to my wife's X5. I don't see the write up that you reference, however. Was it in a different post, or am I just missing a link?

i never got around to doing the write up. Here is a brief synopsis though.
1. disconnect neg battery
2. remove airbag/horn (can explain further or search for the how to)
3. one screw behind each peeling piece, remove screw and pull plastic unit forward
4. disconnect wires
5. carefully remove the backs of the plastic knobs. if you are not careful, some internal plastic pieces will fall off and are easy to loose.
6. now that its all apart, time to wrap, warm and mold
7. reverse above instructions
8. TADA

1. Disconnect the Negative terminal from your battery. (very important)

2. Release the airbag module. Behind the steering wheel, on each side is a small indention. You can see it or feel for it. This is where you will poke thru the vinyl with a small flat head screwdriver to push the metal rod towards the center. You only have to release the lever one side at a time. See this pic for a better idea.

http://www.xoutpost.com/attachment.p...1&d=1463538711

3. Disconnect the two connectors from the steering wheel. Leave the other ends connected to the back of the airbag module. You don't have to mess with those.

http://www.xoutpost.com/attachment.p...1&d=1463538711

4. Now it's time to remove the two control modules that peeling. There's only a small Torx screw (T20 or T25) holding it in from behind the steering wheel for each module.

http://www.xoutpost.com/attachment.p...1&d=1463538711

5. Now it's just a matter of getting some vinyl wrap and cover up the controls. I used 3m primer 94 to make sure it sticks. The hardest part is probably cutting out the openings with a exacto knife. You have to be really precise.

http://www.xoutpost.com/attachment.p...1&d=1463538711

I used this youtube video as a guide.
Installing carbon fiber vinyl on interior trim pieces ProStreetLighting - YouTube

I need to do this!!! My steering wheel controls are peeling and look awful. Can you rehost these pictures somewhere please? I can't see them or get them to load. Thanks!

I fixed this problem a few months ago. I just removed both trims and carefully scraped all of the rubberized coating off. Left a nice black finish. Also, I was able to pull the trim off without removing the airbag.

So you just removed the 2 "switch plates" by unscrewing the two torx screws holding them onto the steering wheel? What did you use to scrape the rubber coating off? Thanks.

I used the tip of a pry tool and some goo gone. For areas that wouldn't come off I carefully used a razor blade. Remove the torx screws and carefully remove the plastic trim only, not the switches. You don't need to remove the screws since its the trim you are removing, but I took them off to get some wiggle room to remove and replace the trim. Also, I had to disconnect the horn fuse because it will drive you crazy if you remove the trim this way. Then, when you put them back, you to have to make sure they line back back with the clips on the trim. Push them as far as you can into the airbag and seat them properly. I would say its a bit hard to do it this way, but doable. Good luck.

So the trim pieces will come off and the switches will stay in place on the wheel? Is that what you are saying? In lordshin808's pics from his post it looks like the switches and the plastic trim pieces come off together. Any pics??? :thumbup:

Didn't take any pics, but the trim can separate from the actual switch.

BMWX5CHI - I just took the torx screws out of the back of the steering wheel but am unable to pull the trim pieces out. The are "looser" but I can't seem to get them out from behind the center of the steering wheel. Any suggestions or will I have to remove the airbag by pushing in the two metal rods? Thanks!!

You have to remove the trim from the switch. lordshin808 going to use your picture for reference. Try to pry it off at different angles. You can see the arrows point to where the trims locks in place. I know it can be done if I did it.

IMHO just remove the airbag, it's really not that hard.

This looks like the current plan. I picked-up some Goo Gone and a small plastic scraper yesterday. Thanks!

Snapped a picture of my wheel so you can see how the trim looks.

After some wrangling, cursing and frustration on trying to get the airbag removed from the steering wheel I found this which explained everything. I was able to remove the airbag within minutes - the diagram in the link was what I needed to visualize what to do:

BMW Workshop Manuals > X Series E70 X5 3.0d (M57T2) OFFRD > 2 Repair Instructions > 32 Steering And Wheel Alignment > 34 Steering Wheel For Airbag > 1 RA Removing And Installing_replacing Airbag Unit

Left side after removing the coating:
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps894obgo7.jpg

Right side after removing the coating:
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...pshze1ngza.jpg

I used a plastic putty knife, Goo Gone and my finger nails to get the coating off - very tedious but well worth it. I may have missed a few small spots but will touch those up today...got in a little bit of a hurry since my wife and I were meeting some friends out for cocktails and I was ready for a drink. :D Thanks to everyone for the DIY and your help.

glad you were able to get this done. I hated the rubber peeling, especially on the steering wheel controls. It was annoying having to stare at it all the time while you drive. You can't ignore it when it's right in front of your face everyday.